


The Los Demonios- Old York Overnight Train

by hentailobster



Series: The Ongoing Case Of Ricky Goldsworth [3]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: 1930s, Death, Detectives, Gen, Horror, Supernatural Elements, Trains, about as violent as the previous, i tried my best it's not super horror-y, or ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 13:03:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18499519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hentailobster/pseuds/hentailobster
Summary: Having just finished a case in Seaside, C.C. Tinsley expects the train home to be uneventful. Of course, when the Los Demonios-Old York overnight train stops between stations for the first time in decades, it becomes evident that this will not be the case.





	The Los Demonios- Old York Overnight Train

Once again, we start our story with a train. 

 

It was an old one, soon to be put out of use, and it had ran the Los Demonios- Old York route more times than anyone could count. Throughout the years it had carried many a set of passengers through the night, from the bustling Los Demonios to the lifeless Old York, and new passengers back the same way in the morning. Overall, the complaints were few and delays were a rare occasion. 

 

The train left Seaside at precisely eleven o’ clock, with a lot of empty seats. It was to move up the coast to Port, then turn inland towards Ditch. 

 

It never got that far. 

 

In thirty years time, the Los Demonios- Old York overnight train had never been forced to stop between stations. But in the middle of a thick fog its wheels suddenly slowed down. With a final screech they stopped, and several passengers were nearly flung out of their seats. This included two passengers in coach number three, a young singer and her traveling companion, a somewhat lanky detective who looked like he’d seen better times. 

 

”Now what the hell was that?” Detective C.C. Tinsley of Old York’s police department mumbled to himself as he got up from the floor. Many of the passengers had similar reactions, talking to each other and looking around to see if anyone had seen them fall. Tinsley was the first to get up, and he made his way to the windows to look out. 

 

The fog was unlike anything he’d ever seen. From the window he couldn’t even see the train’s surroundings so he opened it and leaned out. The air was cold, damp and smelled of ocean. The waves could be heard clearly, so they couldn’t have stopped too far from the sea, but the fog made it impossible to see. Tinsley stretched a hand out and watched it disappear into the white nothing. Only his upper arm was visible and he quickly drew his hand back, feeling a tad uneasy. He shook the feeling off and returned to his seat next to a miss Joan Porter, who’d gotten up from the floor by now. 

 

”Did you see anything?” Her dark brows were furrowed. 

 

”Nope” Tinsley said ”Only fog. Maybe they needed to stop because of it” 

 

”Oh, that makes sense” Miss Porter looked a little less worried ”If it’s bad it can’t be easy to drive through it” 

 

Tinsley nodded. He didn’t mind the delay, in fact it was almost welcome, since he wasn’t exactly dying to get back to Old York. A few extra minutes in the fog meant a few extra minutes for him to figure out what exactly he was going to tell detective Lynham and detective Jonsson about the murder committed at hotel Maison Blanche. 

 

The initial attempt on mr Bernard’s life had been thwarted, but ms Doroftei hadn’t been arrested or even found after her fall. It was unlikely she’d survived, of course, but without her body there was no way to be sure. Then, of course, there was the bigger problem of mr Bernard’s actual murderer getting away. Now that was where the real trouble began. Tinsley didn’t have to lie about ms Doroftei. He hadn’t seen much of what she got up to, after all, but Ricky Goldsworth was a different case entirely. Tinsley couldn’t exactly walk into the office and announce he’d let the serial killer he’d been after for half a year get away because of…something. Gratitude, perhaps. Tinsley wasn’t sure, but whatever the reason he would have to come up with a somewhat convincing lie. Perhaps Goldsworth had knocked him out? Wouldn’t have been the first time. 

 

With a sigh he stood up. It was hard to come up with anything when he had to sit still in a cramped train compartment. 

 

”I’m going to stretch my legs for a while” He said. Miss Porter nodded in response. 

 

”Have fun” 

 

Most passengers seemed to have calmed down by now, with some even sleeping in their seats. Tinsley paid them no notice as he made for the door at the end of the carriage. 

 

It was cold outside, far colder than Tinsley had realized when he’d only checked the fog earlier. He shuddered and closed the door behind him, blocking out the sounds of the carriage and leaving him in complete silence. With his arms outstretched he took a careful step forward, and for a moment he got the sudden feeling of being stuck somewhere completely different. An empty space that seemed to stretch on forever. When Tinsley finally got a grip on the metal railing he held onto it tight. 

 

Originally, he’d planned on staying outside for a while to think, but now that idea felt absurd. Instead he let the railing guide him to the door, walking as fast as he could without risking hitting something he couldn’t see. Letting go of it made him feel uneasy, but the door handle was a welcome feeling in his hand. With a sigh of relief, he swung the door open and stepped inside coach number two. 

 

The mood inside wasn’t much different from the carriage Tinsley’d just left. If anything it was sleepier, with a majority of the passengers being older men apparently trying to out-snore one another. There were a few notable exceptions, of course. A young woman who looked up the moment Tinsley entered. He’d spent enough time observing to know that she was doing the same, and made a mental note of her appearance. Practical clothing, short, dark hair and sharp, even darker eyes. Without stopping he checked the name on her luggage as he passed her. _Francesca Norris._

 

Tinsley would later claim that he’d been busy thinking about the woman as he moved further among the passengers, but the truth was that his eyes fell on the second notable passenger the moment he was within view. 

 

_God damn it,_ Tinsley thought, as he hastily passed the peacefully sleeping Ricky Goldsworth. 

 

He reached the end of the coach and debated turning back, but considering he was nearly at the front and that the train hadn’t moved in about ten minutes he figured he could ask the conductor what was going on. Even if it meant going back out into the fog. 

 

Nothing had changed in the short while Tinsley had been inside. The fog still lay heavy, obscuring the next carriage from view, and he had to reach for the railing again to find his way to coach one. 

 

Inside he noticed a drastic change. The moment he opened the door, a crowd of frightened eyes were on him. No one said a word, not even as Tinsley slowly walked past the compartments towards a door with the word _Personel_ on it. He tried to open it, but found it locked, so he knocked and stepped away from the door as he waited for a response. 

 

”They’re not there” Someone suddenly said. A young boy, who looked far too small for his seat. He held his mother’s hand in what seemed to be a tight grip that was returned by her. 

 

”What do you mean?” Tinsley asked. 

 

”They left. I heard them” The boy said. He sounded a little scared, but nowhere near as frightened as his mother looked, along with the rest of the adult passengers in the coach. Her face was pale and her expression strained. As she spoke, her voice trembled slightly. 

 

”We heard talking. Right after the train stopped and I couldn’t recognize anything they were saying. They talked for a little while and we heard a door open” She paused, and took a shaky breath ”It’s- We don’t know what happened. They just talked. They were talking in these strange, low voices and then they left. I could hear them leave” 

 

There were murmurs of agreement throughout the car. Tinsley didn’t know how to respond, couldn’t come up with anything to say that would comfort the frightened passengers. He turned back to the door and tried the handle again, then checked the lock. It was new, most likely replaced recently, and it looked complicated. Even with simpler ones, Tinsley had never been any good at lock-picking. 

 

He knew someone who was, however. 

 

”Stay calm everyone” Tinsley said, as he made for the door at the back of the car ”I’m gonna try and get some help” 

 

 

 

The fog outside had the same effect as ever, if not worse. The moment Tinsley stepped out into it he felt himself shiver, and had it not been for his tight grip on the railing, his hands would surely have been shaking. It felt as though the cold was steadily seeping in under his skin, leaving his insides a steadily freezing lump. His neck wound, in particular, seemed to be especially susceptible to this effect. It was as though he had a piece of frozen metal pressed to the side of his neck, and when he brought a hand to the wound he found that the cold could be felt even through the thick plaster covering it. 

 

As he opened the door to coach two, Tinsley relaxed considerably. He shut the door behind him and scanned the coach. Goldsworth was where he’d left him, but he found Francesca Norris to be missing. Her luggage was still there, but she was nowhere to be seen. Tinsley quickly went through the quite limited options of where she could have gone as he made for Goldsworth and figured she must have left to find out where he had come from. 

 

Well, that would have to be a problem for later. For now, he had help to recruit and a door to open. Tinsley softly shook Goldsworth’s shoulder. The man’s dark eyes snapped open immediately and fixed on Tinsley with a surprising amount of sharpness considering he’d been asleep only seconds ago. 

 

”Would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment?” Tinsley asked quietly. Goldsworth didn’t respond, only furrowed his brows, considering Tinsley’s request for a moment. Finally he nodded, once, and stood up. 

 

Tinsley led the way out on the walkway between the carriages. The moment the door closed behind them he was halted by Goldsworth grabbing his arm, and almost immediately after, he felt something sharp ghost over his throat. A knife, no doubt about it, and in no way to his surprise. 

 

”No funny business, Tinman” Goldsworth said. 

 

”I’m offended you’d make such assumptions about me” Tinsley managed to keep his voice steady, despite the cold nearly making his teeth rattle ”I need your help with something. And I’m willing to let you leave this train undisturbed if you do as I say” 

 

The knife left Tinsley’s neck and he turned around. With the fog, Goldsworth’s features appeared almost smudged, but his expression was still somewhat readable. Tinsley would call it amused surprise. 

 

”Sounds like a sweet deal” Goldsworth smirked ”Sure, I’ll help you out. That’s what friends are for, right” 

 

Tinsley rolled his eyes and turned around with a muttered ”We are _not_ friends”. The conversation had halted the process slightly, it seemed, but now the effects of the fog made themselves known. Tinsley could hear Goldsworth mutter something that sounded like a curse behind him, and presumed it must have affected him as well. He wanted to ask, but somehow the thought of making too much noise felt…wrong. Tinsley had done some sneaking around in his days, even if it was admittedly less than the average detective, and he recognized the feeling from that. When he needed to keep even his breath quiet, so as not to alert whoever he was hiding from. 

 

It suddenly struck him that anyone could be hiding in the fog. Following them. Waiting for them. Wherever they were he wouldn’t know until it was too late and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get that idea out of his head. Not even when he had his hand on the door to coach one. 

 

Tinsley stopped and turned to Goldsworth, still with a hand on the door. He didn’t dare raise his voice yet, so it came out as little more than a whisper. 

 

”Can I call you Goldsworth or are you using some other name at the moment?” 

 

”Just fucking let me in, Tinman” Goldsworth’s voice was sharp, but just as hushed as Tinsley’s. He didn’t wait for a response, just pushed past and opened the door in an almost violent fashion. It hit the wall inside and the passengers all turned to look at him and Tinsley. Upon noticing that Goldsworth was glaring at them, Tinsley tried a smile, hoping it would ease the passengers’ minds. 

 

”Reinforcements are here, folks” He gently pushed Goldsworth in front of him towards the back of the car. When they reached the door he lowered his voice to a whisper. 

 

”You can get that lock open, right?” He asked, earning himself a scoff in response. 

 

”What do you take me for. Just give me a minute” Goldsworth said as he got to work. 

 

It took him a little more than a minute, and cursing that made a few people cover their children’s ears, before the door was finally opened. Goldsworth stepped away from the door and made a sweeping gesture towards it. 

 

”After you” He said. Tinsley shrugged and stepped inside. 

 

The passengers of coach one had evidently been right, because it did look like the personel had left. Besides a still steaming thermos sitting on a table there were no sign of activity having taken place recently. Tinsley presumed whoever the owner of the thermos was they must have opened it just before they left considering what was inside hadn’t gotten cold yet.

 

Tinsley’s gaze left the thermos and swept over the rest of the room. Besides the table the furnishing only consisted of a few seats fixed to the wall, and to Tinsley it looked like they might get in the way if one were to open the door leading to the locomotive too much. Upon closer inspection (from a crouching perspective, to be specific) there was- besides a few smaller ones- a big mark on said door at level with the seats, confirming his suspicions. Tinsley followed its edges with the tip of his finger. They were smooth, but not enough to tell him how recent the mark was, so he tried opening the door the way he usually would. The cold air from outside made him shiver, but he forced himself to focus on the door instead of the fog. It hit the seat with a low thud, far sooner than he’d anticipated, and when he shut the door again the mark had deepened. There was a slight change in color as well, where the door had hit the seat. A bit of the wood’s finish had been chafed off by the impact. 

 

Tinsley stood up and turned to Goldsworth. 

 

”I have a theory” He said ”See the mark? It’s old, they’d had time to apply new finish that’s been messed up in other places”

 

”And you opening the door messed it up further, meaning…someone didn’t open the door?” Goldsworth didn’t look impressed, but then again, Tinsley hadn’t gotten to his actual theory yet. 

 

”Not really. I think someone did open it, but that they knew not to hit the seat” 

 

”So someone who’d been here before?” Now Goldsworth looked a little more interested. 

 

”Bingo” Tinsley said ”That lady said she heard voices after the train had stopped and if the train stops it _could_ be because no one is driving it anymore” 

 

”So you’re saying the driver dit it” 

 

”Whatever ’it’ is. And it’s just a theory until we check the locomotive, so…” Tinsley opened the door again, this time not enough to hit the seat ”After you” 

 

Goldsworth walked past Tinsley and out into the fog, mumbling something that sounded like it was insulting to either Tinsley or the weather. Or both. Tinsley followed at enough distance for Goldsworth to be little more than a shadow in front of him, which to be fair didn’t require much distance at all in the fog. From the looks of it, Goldsworth was holding onto the railing just like him. The shadowy figure almost seemed to lean on it and to be fair Tinsley understood the urge. Having something physical to hold onto made him feel a little safer, even if he couldn’t pinpoint from what exactly. It helped to have something to keep his eyes on, too. 

 

That, however, didn’t last much longer, because Goldsworth suddenly fell to the side with a surprised cry. 

 

”Goldsworth?” It felt like Tinsley’s voice was muffled by the fog, somehow. Clearing his throat, he hurried forward and nearly lost his balance when the railing suddenly ended. That explained what had happened. Tinsley fumbled with his hand in front of him for a while and finally found the end of the gap in the railing. It wasn’t a big gap, but evidently wide enough for Goldsworth to fall through. Tinsley crouched in the middle of it and looked down over the edge of the walkway. Not entirely to his surprise, he could see nothing but fog. 

 

”Goldsworth?” He asked again ”Ricky, you there?” 

 

”Yeah” The response finally came. Tinsley sighed in relief and stretched out a hand to help Goldsworth up. It took some blind fumbling before he felt the tips of his fingers brush against something. Going back to that spot he leaned forward a bit and finally managed to get a grip on Goldsworth’s hand. 

 

However, just as he was about to help the other man up, he let go. Tinsley instinctively reached out to grab his hand again, but to no avail. 

 

”What are you doing?” He asked, admittedly frustrated. 

 

”I’ll be up in a minute, I found something here” Goldsworth’s voice came from…a lot further to his left than Tinsley had expected. He must have noticed the thing just moments ago and let go of Tinsley’s hand to check it out. 

 

”That was an indirect invite to come see, by the way” Goldsworth added. 

 

”Yeah, yeah, I’m coming” 

 

Tinsley jumped off the walkway and landed next to Goldsworth, who was studying something on the ground. When he got closer, Tinsley noticed there were footprints all over the ground. As if a lot of people had walked right next to the train track at the same time. 

 

”Think this is where they left?” Goldsworth asked.

 

”Probably” Tinsley nodded ”Well done” 

 

”Well I just fell off a train” Goldsworth shrugged ”It’s nothing to go praising me over” 

 

”You’re right, I take it back” 

 

”Hey!”

 

 

 

It was a little difficult to get back up on the walkway, but they managed. Tinsley walked first and made sure to be careful with the railing this time. He found no additional gaps and the two managed to get to the locomotive without another accident. Its door was locked and the few minutes it took for Goldsworth to open it felt like they went by far too slowly, so when Goldsworth finally opened the door, Tinsley had to resist the urge to hurry inside like a frightened cat. 

 

The first thing Tinsley noticed was the man on the floor. 

 

He hurried forward and crouched down next to the man, finding him to be middle-aged, bearded and very dead. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, his expression frozen in a horrified stare currently directed at the roof. 

 

”Ouch” Goldsworth commented ”He’s not looking too good” 

 

He joined Tinsley beside the dead man and carefully folded his collar away, then leaned in close towards the man’s throat. Tinsley watched the other inspect the corpse’s throat for a good minute before finally asking what he was doing. 

 

”Checking for bruises” Goldsworth explained ”His eyes looked like he’d been strangled, but I can’t find any signs of it” 

 

”Good call, though” Tinsley lightly patted Goldsworth’s shoulder. The touch made the other man flinch slightly, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead he smirked. 

 

”Well” He said ”I’ve seen my fair share of dead bodies” 

 

”That’s true” Tinsley nodded ”But still, you make a pretty good detective” 

 

”Thanks, you make a terrible one” 

 

”And what’s that supposed to mean?” 

 

Goldsworth’s smile widened. 

 

”You still haven’t caught me”

 

Tinsley rolled his eyes and decided to abandon the conversation at that, focusing instead on the dead driver. Him and Goldsworth went over the body from head to toe, but couldn’t find any sign of injury. Had it not been for the timing, Tinsley’s first guess would have been on natural causes. 

 

”Right” He stood up ”I think we’ve seen enough here. We need to get some help” 

 

”Authorities?” 

 

”You got it” 

 

”Yikes. Mind not telling them who I am?” Goldsworth slipped into a sickeningly sweet tone ”For friendship’s sake?” 

 

”I’ll consider it” Tinsley said, meaning to sound like he absolutely would not. 

 

He walked over to the locomotive’s radio and tried turning it on. It buzzed to life with a loud crackle and then fell into a static buzzing. Trying to get any message across proved to be futile, so Tinsley and Goldsworth moved back to the personel room to see if they too might have had a radio. They did, but it was as useless as the one in the locomotive. Tinsley cursed and shut the thing off. 

 

”Looks like we’ll have to find another option. You don’t happen to have a radio transmitter on your person, do you?” 

 

”Not that I’m aware” Goldsworth shrugged ”But someone on the train might” 

 

”All we can do is ask around I guess” Tinsley sighed ”I should go and update miss Porter first, though. She must be wondering where I am” 

 

 

 

As it were, miss Porter did not look like she had the time to be wondering, since she was- when Tinsley returned to coach three- completely engulfed in conversation with Francesca Norris. She’d taken Tinsley’s seat and was leaning back, listening to a story miss Porter was telling with a content look on her face. Tinsley cleared his throat. 

 

”Miss Porter” 

 

”Oh, welcome back!” Miss Porter’s eyes lit up when she noticed Goldsworth ”Detective Morris! It’s so good to see you again” 

 

Goldsworth smiled. 

 

”It’s a pleasure to see you’re doing well, miss Porter” He shook her hand and as the two continued making small talk, miss Norris got up. 

 

”I believe this is your seat mister…” 

 

”Tinsley” 

 

”Tinsley” She repeated and extended a hand ”My name is Francesca, I was just having a conversation with your lovely traveling companion here” 

 

”That I could tell” Tinsley nodded as he took her hand ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss, but me and my friend can’t stay for long, I’m afraid” 

 

”Wait, why?” Miss Porter cut in ”What’s going on?” 

 

”Er, it’s a long story” Tinsley looked around the carriage. He really didn’t need all these people freaking out about what had happened to the driver. He lowered his voice to a whisper ”And I can’t really explain it with all these people around” 

 

”You could tell me in French” Miss Porter looked worried ”Or Spanish, perhaps if you don’t know French” 

 

”I don’t know any of them” Tinsley shook his head ”Terribly sorry” 

 

”Well, do you know any other languages? Because I-” 

 

”I speak Spanish” Goldsworth interrupted her ”I’ll tell you what’s going on, but promise not to make a scene” 

 

_”Yo prometo”_

 

While Goldsworth explained the situation to a well-composed miss Porter, Tinsley grabbed his coat, from the seat he’d left it on. He’d missed it dearly when he was out in the cold fog and if they were going to walk between carriages again he was going to stay as warm as he could. As he put iton, he thought about their upcoming search for a radio. They could start from the back of the train and work their way forward or vice-versa. Or he could just start here, since really, it was no use waiting. Tinsley turned to miss Norris. 

 

”You wouldn’t happen to have a radio with you?”

 

”I do” She responded ”Why?” 

 

”Well there’s a bit of an emergency and we couldn’t find a working one anywhere on the train” Tinsley explained ”So if we could borrow yours, that’d be great” 

 

”Sure” Miss Norris shrugged ”It’s in my bag, in carriage two” 

 

”Great” Tinsley turned to Goldsworth and miss Porter, who was looking a little pale ”We’ll be off for a minute. Miss Norris has a radio we can use” 

 

Miss Porter nodded and Goldsworth smiled. 

 

”Good luck” He said.

 

 

 

The walk to carriage two was decidedly more pleasant with a coat, but that didn’t necessarily mean Tinley enjoyed it. Especially since he kept hearing footsteps that weren’t his own, nor miss Norris’. When they walked through the door to the carriage he turned around and spied out for a moment, but didn’t see anyone. His staring was interrupted by miss Norris. 

 

”Tinsley!” She yelled from her seat ”We have a problem” 

 

The problem in question was that miss Norris’ portable, quite modern radio was having the same issue as the ones on the train. She tried adjusting the frequencies, but nothing happened and she finally turned it off. 

 

”There shouldn’t be anything wrong with this” She mumbled, seemingly to herself ”Maybe the frequency…” 

 

She stood up and grabbed a jacket from her seat, then handed the radio to Tinsley as she put it on. 

 

”We’ll need to move somewhere where I can get a signal” She explained ”If we follow the train tracks we won’t get lost” 

 

”Sounds like a blast” Tinsley shuddered. Walking from carriage to carriage was one thing but wandering out in the fog, away from the train. That sounded about as pleasant as just walking into the ocean. Of course, it wasn’t as thought they had a choice. At the last second, Tinsley remembered to grab Goldsworth’s coat for him, and then he and miss Norris were off. 

 

When they got back to coach three, miss Porter was looking considerably more relaxed than when they’d left. Goldsworth looked like he was having the time of his life so Tinsley threw his coat over him. 

 

”The fuck was that for?!” Goldsworth’s grin turned into a scowl in seconds and miss Porter laughed. 

 

”We’re going out” Tinsley said, trying not to join miss Porter in laughing ”I was nice enough to get you your coat” 

 

”Out, you mean…” Goldsworth cast a glance towards the window and trailed off. Tinsley nodded. 

 

”Yeah, I don’t like it either” 

 

”Wait you’re leaving?” Miss Porter asked ”Because in that case I’m coming too” 

 

She got up from her seat without waiting for an answer and started putting on her own coat. Tinsley tried to say something about it being dangerous, but she refused to listen. 

 

”Nonsense” She scoffed ”If it’s so bloody dangerous then you need all the help you can get” 

 

”She has a point” Goldsworth looked amused. 

 

”Thank you, Ricky” Miss Porter nodded and finished buttoning her coat ”Now, are we going or not?”

 

Seeing as it didn’t seem like she’d give up, Tinsley begrudgingly agreed to let miss Porter come. Miss Norris didn’t seem to mind, and Goldsworth was outspokenly in favor of it, so Tinsley probably wouldn’t have gotten any help from them. 

 

Thus, the four-member party was off. They passed through carriage four, five and six, and then, finally, the last carriage. There, miss Norris went over the plan once again. 

 

”We’ll follow the train tracks and check for a signal every five minutes” She held up the radio ”And we’ll stick together, we don’t want anyone wandering off and getting lost” 

 

Miss Porter nodded. She looked like she understood the gravity of the situation, which was a relief. Not that Tinsley underestimated her ability to take things seriously, he was just a little worried about having a comparatively normal person on the team for this particular outing. He would really not want miss Porter to get hurt. 

 

Miss Norris swung the door open and stepped outside, followed by miss Porter, Goldsworth and Tinsley last. They all climbed off the walkway, with Goldsworth helping miss Porter down, and gathered on the track below. The fog meant one could only see about two feet of it ahead, and the group huddled together without a word. Tinsley looked around them, but only saw the train. A dark figure behind them, providing the only fixed point in the fog besides the ground they were standing on. 

 

Miss Norris checked her watch, then slowly started walking forward. The rest of the group followed without a word. 

 

Walking like this was completely different from crossing the walkways between the carriages. Tinsley tried to count his steps, but quickly lost count and had to find something else to keep his mind occupied with. He kept his eyes on miss Porter’s hair, which bounced slightly with each step that she took, and forced himself to look into the fog as little as possible. 

 

That was, until he heard something. 

 

Tinsley instinctively wanted to stop and listen, but he was smart enough not to. Instead he stuck with the group, but kept his ears open. He could swear there was a noise, almost like footsteps, but quite different from theirs. They were softer and had a certain feel to them that Tinsley just couldn’t place…

 

”Halt” Miss Norris said. She put the radio down on the track and turned it on, with the same result as back on the train. With a curse, she picked it up again and continued walking without another word. Tinsley and the others followed, and he once again tried to listen for the footsteps. 

 

There they were again, closer now. And they’d picked up their pace. Tinsley softly nudged Goldsworth. 

 

”Do you hear that?” He whispered. 

 

”Hear what?” Goldsworth looked over his shoulder at Tinsley. 

 

”Footsteps” 

 

Goldsworth nodded. 

 

”Yeah” He said ”They’re close” 

 

Tinsley cast a glance towards where the sounds were coming from, but couldn’t see anything. He kept listening to the footsteps as they got closer, then turned and hurried away only to come back moments later. They continued as such until miss Norris stopped again. Still no luck with the radio. 

 

”I think there might be something about the fog” She said with a sigh ”It’s-” 

 

A wail cut her off, making the entire party jump. It came from the fog and it was unlike anything Tinsley had ever heard. It almost sounded like a bird, but deeper and came in strange beats, ending abruptly and intertwined with noises that sounded more like creaking. The ’song’ kept on for a while, but never got any closer, then faded away as- presumably- the source of it moved further away from the group. 

 

”What was that?” Miss Porter asked, after a minute of complete silence. 

 

”No idea” Miss Norris had her eyes fixed on the fog. 

 

”Didn’t sound human to me” Goldsworth had drawn his knife, Tinsley realized. 

 

”Well whatever it is” He tried to sound calm ”We can wonder about it as we walk. We need to get moving, remember” 

 

There were murmurs of agreement, and the group once again started walking. This time, it appeared they were all quite on edge. Goldsworth didn’t put the knife away, and both miss Norris and miss Porter cast worried glances around themselves. Tinsley himself wasn’t much better. Whenever he heard the footsteps get closer he’d tense up. There was something about the fog that made him irrational. Every new step they took felt like it’d bring on someone. Standing there on the track and waiting for them. 

 

God, Tinsley felt like a child. 

 

They stopped a third time and tried the radio, still to no avail. When they started walking again, the song returned. It was distant, but clear, and this time it didn’t stop. It followed the group as they made their way through the seemingly endless fog, always at enough distance to be obscured by it, but close enough for Tinsley to be able to hear the footsteps over the singing. 

 

Never in his life had he been so relieved to see fog lighten. Up ahead, he could suddenly see more and more of the train track, and around him, silhouettes of the landscape were revealed the further the group went. Mountains to their left, and the edge of the cliffs and the ocean to the right. Not a minute later he could finally see the stars in the sky, and he couldn’t help but sigh in relief. When they were finally out of the fog they stopped and miss Norris tried the radio for the fourth time. 

 

_”-ello. This is the Seas- train office. Who -m I speaking to?”_

 

It was chopped up, but it was something. Tinsley almost wanted to jump up and down and cheer, but he refrained from doing so so as to not disturb miss Norris. 

 

”This is Francesca Norris speaking, from the tracks behind train number 1086-06 from Los Demonios. There’s been an issue and we need immediate help” She said, loud and clear. Seeing as she seemed to have the situation under control, Tinsley wandered away from the train tracks, standing next to Goldsworth who’d done the same. The two of them were quiet for a moment, before Tinsley finally spoke. 

 

”I’ve been meaning to ask, how much did you tell miss Porter? She called you Ricky” 

 

”Oh, that” Goldsworth made a dismissive gesture ”I told her everything” 

 

”Wait everything as in-”

 

”Yup” He shrugged ”I figured she should know” 

 

”You know you really could use being more secretive. You’re gonna get caught at this rate” 

 

”As if I’d-” 

 

Goldsworth suddenly went silent. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance, and Tinsley turned to see what it was. 

 

A man was standing by the edge of the cliffs. He stared at them, with eyes that Tinsley couldn’t quite make out from so far away. It looked like he was wearing what looked like a uniform, though it was muddy and his shoes were missing. 

 

Tinsley took a step towards the man, and he quickly turned around. Before Tinsley knew what was happening, the man had taken a running start and jumped off the cliff. With a gasp, Tinsley hurried forwards, but once he reached the edge there was no sign of the man. As he leaned over to look down into the dark sea below, he heard that faint, wailing song one last time. 

 

 

 

Personel from Seaside’s train station arrived an hour later in a one-carriage train, at which point, the fog had disappeared completely. They picked the group up and gave them a lift to the longer train, which was still waiting ahead of them. During the short ride, Tinsley explained the situation to the boss of the railway station, who looked increasingly concerned with each word. When they stopped, he insisted on staying in the carriage, and instead sent two of his men with Tinsley. 

 

The three of them climbed up on the walkway and Tinsley opened the door, to find the carriage completely empty. 

 

Coats and luggage had been left on the seats and shelves, but there were no signs of any people. Tinsley and the men looked around inside for a while, then moved on to the next carriage. It too, was empty. And so was the next, and the next, and the next. The entire train had been emptied. Even the corpse of the driver was missing from where it had been laying. 

 

Tinsley jumped down from the gap in the railing on the walkway between the locomotive and carriage number one. There were more footsteps here, this time. All over the ground, along the sides of the train as far as Tinsley could see. He followed them forwards, knowing very well where they’d end. 

 

The edge of the cliffs were more jagged here than where Tinsley’d seen the man. Tinsley looked over them and immediately regretted his decision. 

 

Some bodies still hadn’t been washed away by the sea. 

 

 

 

Tinsley, Goldsworth, miss Porter and miss Norris were personally escorted to their respective stops. Goldsworth got off first. He disappeared without a word in Port, and Tinsley couldn’t find it in him to wonder what he’d be up to there at the moment. Miss Porter left in Ditch, mumbling a goodbye to Tinsley and miss Norris, who both sat in silence for the remainder of the journey. 

 

They arrived at Old Yorks train station at half past five in the morning and got off. The two of them stood on the platform for a while, without saying anything. It wasn’t until a worker walked up to the large timetable to change the departure time of the next train to Los Demonios from seven o’ clock to seven thirty that miss Norris made a move. She seemed to stir from a daydream, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. 

 

”Before I forget” She said ”It’s a job offer. Do consider it” 

 

”I don’t take jobs” Tinsley responded, eyeing the letter. It had his full name on it, which was unusual. 

 

”Not at the moment, no” Miss Norris nodded ”But as I said, do consider it” 

 

”I most certainly won’t” Tinsley smiled and extended a hand ”It was a pleasure meeting you, miss Norris” 

 

”I could say the same to you” She smiled and shook his hand. 

 

As Tinsley walked off he studied the letter further, before finally putting it in his coat pocket. He could read it later, first he had to get to the police station and report on what had happened at Maison Blanche. 

 

 

 

Detective Jonsson was already there when Tinsley arrived. He looked up when the door opened, and his expression immediately darkened. 

 

”Mister Tinsley” He said ”Have a seat” 

 

Tinsley sat down opposite Jonsson with a confused frown creeping over his face. Jonsson didn’t say anything for a long time, so Tinsley eventually felt compelled to start talking. 

 

”What’s the matter?” He asked.

 

”Well, mister Tinsley” Jonsson sighed ”We’ve been talking, while you were gone. Detective Lynham and I, and well- to put it frankly- we’re disappointed in you” 

 

Tinsley felt his stomach sink. He was starting to suspect where this conversation might be going. 

 

”You’re work on the axe murders and the Goldsworth case we feel like-, well it simply isn’t adequate” Jonsson continued ”And believe me, it’s not that we don’t appreciate your efforts, we just think you’re not doing enough”

 

”So…”

 

”We’d like you to leave the department” Jonsson leaned back in his chair ”You’re fired” 

 

 

 

Tinsley shut the door to his apartment with a sigh. He dropped his bag on the ground unceremoniously and leaned his forehead against the door. Outside, he could hear people waking up and leaving their houses. They were noises he’d heard every morning for the past five years- Doors being locked, people wishing each other good morning and the occasional car. It was strange to hear those noises from behind a closed door and windows, and not be a part of them. 

 

Tinsley sighed again. He straightened his back and took his coat off, suddenly remembering the letter. 

 

A job offer _was_ something he was in desperate need of, at the moment. 

 

The letter read as follows: 

 

_Hello, detective Tinsley_

 

_We asked Francesca to deliver this letter to you, since it is of the utmost importance. To put it simply- there’s a person we want you to find. Details will be provided if you choose to accept the case, but we can safely say that you will be rewarded handsomely. We understand that you currently reside in Old York, and we’d be willing to pay full expenses for housing here in Los Demonios, in addition to your salary. We’re not stingy, if you need anything you just have to ask._

 

_Should you choose to accept our offer, please dial the following number_

 

_167-089-210_

 

_Signed,_

 

_Nigh Night & Legs, Attorneys at Law_

 

Tinsley thought about the offer, probably way less time than he should have. Then he picked up his phone and dialed the number. 

 

_”Night Night & Legs, Attorneys at Law, this is Legs speaking. What can I do for you today?” _

 

”This is detective Tinsley” Tinsley paused for a moment, thinking it over a final time ”I’m interested in your job offer” 

 

_”Excellent”_

**Author's Note:**

> wow what a cliffhanger sorry this is short and took me a month to write please comment what you thought anyways ljhfkgfkg


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